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Togo is a long, narrow country in West Africa, with an interior plateau rising to mountains in the north. From the late 17th to the mid-19th century, slave traders prowled Togo's forests and savannas. In 1922 the eastern part of the German protectorate of Togoland passed into French hands, becoming independent in 1960. Military rule finally yielded to some democratic reforms amid civil unrest in the 1990s. However, massive electoral fraud has marred recent elections. Togo is a poor agricultural country with a dismal human-rights record.